§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the statement made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary during the Adjournment debate on 21 January on brain injury,Official Report, columns 50–52WH, what factors underlay his decision to postpone until 2004–05 the transfer of responsibility for specialist commissioning to consortiums of PCTs. [96768]
§ Mr. HuttonNo decision has been taken to postpone the transfer of responsibility for commissioning specialised services to primary care trust (PCT) consortia. PCTs have been commissioning specialised services since April 2002 on a collaborative basis via their regional specialised commissioning groups (RSCGs) and their local specialised commissioning groups. RSCG membership is made up of PCT representatives, who replaced health authority representatives last April.